U.S. upgraded military ties with Taiwan as China threat grew

East-Asia-Intel.com ^ | 5/5/2010 | East-Asia-Intel.com

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The U.S. government has gradually upgraded military relations with Taiwan over the past decade and now has an unofficial "embassy" in Taipei with functioning if not formal military attaches due to the limitations of existing diplomatic ties with China, according to U.S. officials.

The most significant upgrade in military ties took place six years ago when the Pentagon shifted its policy from posting only retired military officers in Taipei as liaisons to the Taiwanese military to using active duty officers.

The use of active duty military officers, including those with the most senior rank of full colonel, was based on the need to have better ties to the Taiwanese in the event of an attack from the Mainland.

The U.S. military is obligated under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to provide for the defense of Taiwan against a Mainland attack.

However, U.S. officers are prohibited from wearing military uniforms while working at facilities operating under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan, a non-profit corporation established with assistance from the U.S. government.

China has refused to rule out military force against Taiwan and has deployed large numbers of missiles — at last count some 1,400 — within range of the island.

U.S. officials call the policy toward the Taiwan Strait “dual deterrence” — militarily deterring China from conducting a military strike while politically deterring Taiwan’s leaders from upsetting the status quo that has kept the peace since KMT nationalists fled the Mainland after the civil war with the communists

[givemELL]

“The U.S. military is obligated under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act to provide for the defense of Taiwan against a Mainland attack.

However, U.S. officers are prohibited from wearing military uniforms while working at facilities operating under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan, a non-profit corporation established with assistance from the U.S. government.”

Taiwan is an unincorporated territory of the United States, obtained in the final treaty with Japan, ending the second WW with Japan, the Treaty of San Francisco in 1951. A military tribunal answerable to the Congress, administered the island, permitting the Taiwanese govt to function.

http://www.taiwandocuments.org/sanfrancisco01.htm